Presidential Boost

Presidential Boost

Tampa Steel Erecting Co. is hoping more federal funds will help its bridge-building business.

The pledge by President-elect Barack Obama to invest $60 billion in infrastructure is welcome news for Tampa Steel Erecting Co., a bridge-building company that does work for projects nationwide.

Obama has said he will create 2 million jobs by rebuilding the nation's crumbling roads, schools and bridges.

The House of Representatives has talked about a $150 billion economic stimulus package, $18 billion of which may go for transportation. U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of the committee on transportation and infrastructure, is one of the sponsors.

"All of the states have projects, such as roads and bridges, ready to go," says Robert Clark, chief executive officer of Tampa Steel, who has talked to Tampa Bay area politicians about the bill, including U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor of Tampa, about a possible special session on the bill.

"All they have to do is tell someone, 'You have the money,'" Clark says. "Within 30 days or less, they'll have projects to put out to bid."

For its fiscal year ended Sept. 30, Tampa Steel brought in $13 million in revenue, down from $19 million the previous year and $22 million the year before that.

This past fiscal year it also posted a loss because its facility was under-utilized. It has consistently been a profitable company, Clark says.

Obama has asked Congress to pass an economic stimulus bill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she wants spending on highways and other transportation infrastructure included in the next stimulus package.

Clark's father founded the company in 1945 in Ybor City. Its history includes assembling structures as varied as the giant golf ball-like Spaceship Earth at Walt Disney World and the oyster-shell-shaped glass and steel roof of the Florida Aquarium to a bridge on the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey.

It tripled production in the 1990s. But rising workers' compensation insurance costs forced it to leave building construction and focus on bridge building. That has suffered.

Tampa Steel now employs 75 people, doing about 2,500 production hours a week. A little more than a year ago, the company was doing more than 5,000.

"Work is just not out there," Clark says. "Federal money is not there."

Tampa Steel takes raw steel and cuts, welds and assembles it into the superstructure, or support system, for a bridge. Its work is based on national, state and county transportation budgets.

Besides the layoffs, the company is coping with the slower economy by lowering prices. It is also getting more aggressive and creative in bidding.

For example, on the Estero Drive-Interstate 75 bridge project in Lee County, Tampa Steel proposed that it could save the county millions by building a steel bridge instead of the concrete one the county wanted. It won the job.

The biggest CEO lesson Clark has learned is getting and retaining a dedicated workforce. Don't underestimate the value of workers who consistently get to work on time every day and do the right things, he says.

Clark has no plans to retire in the near future. He would like to keep running the company another 10 to 15 years.

Despite the slower economy, Clark is optimistic. Bridges ensure the safety of commerce, travel and even national defense. They will have to be repaired or rebuilt.

"The recovery will take place," he says. "We all becoming aware of the need with our infrastructure."

- Dave Szymanski